GET REEL: What to watch this awards season

Bob Tremblay @BobTremblay_MW

Sunday

Jan 6, 2019 at 1:00 AMJan 6, 2019 at 10:58 AM

The movie awards season has arrived, which means critics groups have begun nominating and bestowing honors on films that many in the public haven’t seen because the films haven’t been released yet or weren't popular enough to warrant their notice.

Fortunately, not all the nominees have flown under the radar and some that have been ignored, for whatever reason, deserve to be seen. Sadly, many of these movies have disappeared from theaters so you’ll have to wait for rereleases, watch them when they’re released on video or shown on cable.

So, what films should you make an effort to watch so when the Oscars are awarded on Feb. 24 you won’t say, “Didn’t see it,” “Never heard of it” or “Oscar who?”

The film with the highest profile so far has arguably been “A Star Is Born,” the fourth go-around for a story about two entertainers on different career trajectories. Male lead Bradley Cooper and female lead Lady Gaga have racked up numerous nominations already, with Cooper getting extra attention as he also directed, co-wrote and co-produced the film. The movie marks his directorial debut, too.

The film has received five Golden Globe nominations, including best picture (drama), best actor (drama), best actress (drama) and best director. You may wonder why it wasn’t nominated in the best musical category. In case you want to see any of the previous incarnations, may I recommend the 1954 version simply because it showcases the super-sized talent of Judy Garland.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has also nominated Cooper and Lady Gaga for the top thespian prize. The guild nominated the film for best cast, too.

The National Board of Review has already given its best director award to Cooper and best actress award to Lady Gaga while the Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association named Cooper best actor and Lady Gaga best actress.

Expect Oscar to bestow a few statuettes on this film.

Another movie stockpiling nominations and awards is “Roma,” a Spanish-language film about the life of a housekeeper in a middle-class family. Seven critics groups have already chosen it as best picture and five critics groups have selected Alfonso Cuaron as best director. Cuaron has also received a Golden Globe nomination for best director while the movie is among the best foreign language film and best screenplay nominees. Cuaron previously won an Oscar for “Gravity.”

While I’m a huge fan of Cuaron and admired “Roma,” I’m not as enamored with it as many of my fellow critics. If you crave drama in your movies, you might feel underwhelmed, too. However, if you’re of the artsy persuasion, you’ll likely swoon. Note that critics groups showered “Get Out” with awards last year while only two honored “The Shape of Water,” the eventual Oscar winner. I’ll be amazed if “Roma” nabs the best picture honor comes Academy Awards time. It likely will be named best foreign film, though that award should go to “Shoplifters,” the Palme d’Or winner at Cannes.

The film that garnered the most Golden Globe nominations, with six, is “Vice,” a biographical film on former vice president Dick Cheney. The movie was scheduled to be released Dec. 25 and is guaranteed to fuel controversy. Let’s just say it’s not likely to receive plaudits from Fox News. You may also wonder why it was nominated as best picture in the musical or comedy category since it’s neither a musical nor a comedy.

The film also received nods for best actor (Christian Bale as Cheney), best supporting actress (Amy Adams as Cheney’s wife Lynne), best supporting actor (Sam Rockwell as President George W. Bush), best director (Adam McKay) and best screenplay (McKay again). SAG followed suit, nominating Bale as best actor and Adams as best supporting actress.

“Vice” was already elected a winner by the Detroit Film Critics Society, which named McKay best director, and the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, which chose Bale best actor. The best screenplay honor ended up as a tie with the Detroit group with “Vice” sharing honors with “Green Book.”

Speaking of “Green Book,” it’s another critics group favorite and one the public likes, too. Based on the true story of a bouncer played by Viggo Mortensen who accompanies a black pianist played by Mahershala Ali on a tour of the Deep South in 1962, it has received five Golden Globe nominations – (best picture in a musical or comedy category), best actor (Mortensen), best supporting actor (Ali), best director (Peter Farrelly) and best screenplay (Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga and Brian Currie). SAG, meanwhile, nominated Mortensen for best actor and Ali for best supporting actor.

“Green Book” has already garnered best film honors from the National Board of Review. The board also named Mortensen best actor while the Washington, D.C., critics group selected Ali best supporting actor. Then there was the aforementioned tie for best screenplay. You may wonder why Ali is nominated as best supporting actor since his screen time nearly mirrors Mortensen’s.

Yet another movie drawing awards buzz is “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” based on the true story of an author played by Melissa McCarthy who turns to celebrity forgery out of financial desperation. Both the Golden Globes and SAG nominated McCarthy as best actress and Richard E. Grant as best supporting actor. The Boston Society of Film Critics, of which I'm a member, and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle already named McCarthy its best actress and four critics groups, including the Boston Society, gave Grant its best supporting actor award. Eight critics groups, including the Boston Society, bestowed its best supporting actress award on Regina King for "If Beale Street Could Talk." The Boston Society also selected "Beale Street" as best film.

Right now, if I were handicapping the Golden Globes and Oscars, the battle for the big prizes would involve “A Star Is Born,” “Vice,” “Green Book,” and “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Other films either receiving or being nominated for top awards include “The Favourite,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Eighth Grade” and “First Reformed.” The latter, about a pastor dealing with a few issues, stars Ethan Hawke, who has already been named best actor by seven critics groups. Olivia Colman, meanwhile, has been selected best actress by the three critics groups for her performance as Queen Anne in “The Favourite.”

In the animation category, favorites include “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” “Incredibles 2,” “Isle of Dogs” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet.” “Spider-Man” has been nominated for a Golden Globe and already received awards from five critics groups. The National Board of Review and the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle chose “Incredibles 2” as their favorite while four critics groups, including the Boston Society, honored “Isle of Dogs.” The one to see and worthy of more honors is “Spider-Man.”

In the documentary category, favorites include “RBG,” “Minding the Gap,” “Three Identical Strangers,” “Shirkers” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” The National Board of Review gave “RBG” its top prize while six critics groups, including the Boston Society, chose “Won’t You Be Neighbor?” The latter is most deserving of awards.

In the foreign language film category, the favorites include the aforementioned “Roma,” “Burning,” “Cold War” and “Shoplifters.” The National Board of Review honored “Cold War” while five critics groups selected “Roma.” The Boston Society wisely chose "Shoplifters." On the outre spectrum, it picked Lynne Ramsay as best director for "You Were Never Really Here."

Last year was a real good one for John C. Reilly. The actor hit a cinematic grand slam ("The Sisters Brothers," "Stan & Ollie", "Holmes & Watson" and the voice of Ralph in "Ralph Breaks the Internet"). The Boston Society also named Reilly its best actor for his performance in "Stan & Ollie." 2018 was a good year, too, for the aforementioned Ethan Hawke, who, in addition to starring in “First Reformed,” directed “Blaze” and had a supporting role in “Juliet, Naked.” Other triple threats in 2018 included Nicole Kidman (“Destroyer,” “Aquaman” and “Boy Erased”), Willem Dafoe ("At Eternity's Gate," "Aquaman" and the narrator in "Vox Lux"), Lucas Hedges ("Ben Is Back," "Boy Erased" and "Mid90s"), Steve Carell ("Beautiful Boy," Vice" and "Welcome to Marwen") and Brian Tyree Henry (“If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Widows” and the voice of Jefferson Davis in “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”).

Finally, while awards groups have been rightfully criticized in the past for ignoring minorities, three of the five films nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for the Golden Globe as best dramatic picture are helmed by black directors: Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”), Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”) and Barry Jenkins (“If Beal Street Could Talk”).

The Golden Globe trophies will be bestowed tonight, Jan. 6, and the SAG Awards on Jan 27. Oscar nominations get revealed Jan. 22.

Last month's tester: This writer received four best screenplay Oscar nominations, the first in the 1930s, the last in the 1980s. Clue: One of the screenplays has an animal's name in the title.

Answer: Julius Epstein

Michael Matondi of Hopedale was the only reader to answer the question correctly. Congratulations!

This month's tester: This actor received his only Oscar nomination for a film that won the Oscar for best song. He would later star in a TV show featuring his real-life daughter. Clue: He had a supporting role in one of the most famous films of all time.

The first reader to answer the question correctly will receive a prize.

Trivia enthusiasts can call me at 508-626-4409 or email me at rtremblay@wickedlocal.com. Make sure you leave your name, address and phone number on my message machine or email so I can contact you if you answered the question correctly. The address is needed so winners can be mailed their prize. Callers should spell out their names slowly and clearly so their names will be spelled correctly in the column.